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Beerschot
Full name	Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen
Nickname(s)	De Kielse Ratten; De Mannekes; Purple White Army
Founded	2013; 12 years ago
Ground	Olympisch Stadion; Antwerp, Belgium
Capacity	12,771
Owner	Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud
Chairman	Francis Vrancken
Manager	Dirk Kuyt
League	Pro League
2023–24	Challenger Pro League, 1st of 16 (champions)
Website	www.beerschot.be
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnəŋkləkə ˈbeːrsxɔt ˈvudbɑlklʏp ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)]), or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the top tier Pro League after promotion from second tier in 2023–24 season. In 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to integrate the identity of Beerschot AC when they were relegated in the 2012–13 season, not only through their league position but also due to losing their professional licence through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 and folding shortly afterwards. The club colours are purple and white, they play their games on the club's home ground the Olympic Stadium often referred to as 't Kiel.

History

KFCO Wilrijk

The club was founded in 1921 as Football Club Wilrijk and joined The Belgian football association.

As a result of the introduction of a national third division in 1926, the club played national football for the first time in their then short existence. The club ended third last, leading to their relegation after just one season. In 1931 the number of participants in the divisions was increased, causing FC Wilrijk to be included on the national level for the second time. FC Wilrijk lasted two seasons before being relegated again.

In 1935 the club was promoted once more. Unlike their previous third division stays, FC Wilrijk showcased dominant football. This resulted in a 3rd position in the 1935–36 season and even becoming third division champions in the 1936–37 season. After winning their division the club was promoted to the second division lasting two seasons before being relegated in 1939. After a lengthy stay in the third division, FC Wilrijk was relegated to the Provincial division in 1949 which set a trend for the following decades.

In 1993 KFC Wilrijk merged with Olympia Wilrijk 72. This other Wilrijk-based club, was founded in 1972 and part of the Royal Belgian Football Association, being assigned the association number 7727. Both clubs shared forces as KFC Olympia Wilrijk and continued under KFC Wilrijks association number 155.

In 1994, the club reached the 4th division, playing national football for the first time in 45 years. In the 1995–96 season KFCO Olympia Wilrijk came in 3rd only two points short of standing victorious in their division. After eight years KFC Olympia Wilrijk ended third last, which led to being relegated. Their absence was short-lived however, as KFC Olympia Wilrijk was promoted the following year resulting in a three-year stay before being relegated. In 2008 the club was promoted again, only to be relegated in 2010.

FCO Beerschot Wilrijk

After Beerschot AC's bankruptcy in 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to harbour its fans. KFCO Wilrijk followed up by incorporating the name Beerschot and their respective colours in their own identity. The KBVB however decided that due to the name change, the club was no longer eligible to use the handle "royal" in their club name. Hence the club's name is FCO Beerschot Wilrijk rather than KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk. In order to retrieve their "royal" status, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk filed a successful application in June 2017.

FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, became an instant success. Their season opener against Ternesse VV was attended by 8500 fans, which was a record for the Belgian provincial division at the time. This record was broken on 15 February 2014 during their game against fierce title contender FC De Kempen which was attended by 8982 fans and topped again, during their title game against KFC Katelijne-Waver on 22 March. This game was attended by almost 12000 fans and won by 5–0, gaining the club mathematic certainty about crowning themselves 2013–14 division champions.

Due to the club's high attendance – weekly attendance that tops several first division teams – KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk is required to play their home games at the Olympisch Stadion (city of Antwerp) to guarantee the safety of their fans. This is the home ground of the fallen Beerschot VAC. The club reached an average of 7000 fans at home games during its first season in the 1st division of the province of Antwerp. The club's success and vibe often lead to opponents renting bigger stadiums because the prospected attendance exceeds their own stadium capacity.^{[citation needed]}

For the 2014–15 season, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk was promoted to the 4th division in Belgian national football. In mid-March 2015, they held a 10-point lead over their closest rival.^[3] They were promoted to third division as champions of their group. In 2015–2016 they became champions of the third division after a sensational winning goal in the last minute of their last game. In 2016–2017 they became the first champion of the new '1st Amateur League' and gained promotion to the Proximus League, the second tier of Belgian football.

In February 2018, Saudi prince Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, owner of the English Premier League side Sheffield United, announced his investment in Beerschot alongside Belgian construction company DCA.^[4]

Beerschot

In 2019, the club changed its name to Beerschot, and also changed the club logo.

They played in the Challenger Pro League for three seasons, and played the promotion final each year. Finally, after losing to Cercle Brugge K.S.V. and K.V. Mechelen, they gained promotion to the Belgian Belgian First Division A at the end of the 2019-2020 season.

In 2021–22, Beerschot were relegated to the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian football after finishing 18th in the Belgian Pro League

In 2023–24, Beerschot secured promotion to the Belgian Pro League for the 2024–25 season after a two year absence, after winning the Challenger Pro League

Results

Season	League									Division	Points	Remarks	Belgian Cup
	I	II	III	IV	P.I	P.II	P.III	P.IV
2013–14					1					First Provincial League	70	Promotion.
2014–15				1						Fourth Division C	71	Promotion.	Fifth round
2015–16			1							Third Division B	71	Promotion.	Third round
Reformation of the Belgian football league system*
	IA	IB	IAm	IIAm	IIIAm	P.I	P.II	P.III	P.IV
2016–17			1							First Amateur Division	53	Promotion. Ranked first with 80 points.	Fifth round
2017–18		3								First Division B	46	Winner of the first period title with 29 points.	Sixth round
2018–19		2								First Division B	54	Winner of the second period title with 30 points.	Seventh Round
2019–20		5								First Division B	43	Promoted. Winner of second period with 26 points.	Sixth round
2020–21	9									First Division A	47		Seventh Round
2021–22	18									First Division A	16	Relegation to Challenger Pro League	Seventh Round
2022–23		3								Challenger Pro League	49		Sixth round
2023–24		1								Challenger Pro League	56	Promotion to Belgian Pro League	Seventh round
2024–25										Belgian Pro League			TBD Round

As a result, KFCO BW remained in the third division.

Current squad

As of 29 September 2024^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	FRA	Colin Dagba
3	DF	BEL	Hervé Matthys
4	DF	NED	Brian Plat
5	DF	FRA	Loïc Mbe Soh
6	DF	EGY	Omar Fayed (on loan from Fenerbahçe)
7	FW	BEL	Tom Reyners
8	MF	SCO	Ewan Henderson
9	FW	LBR	Ayouba Kosiah
10	FW	BEL	Thibaud Verlinden
11	FW	GER	Florian Krüger
16	MF	KSA	Faisal Al-Ghamdi (on loan from Al-Ittihad)
17	MF	KSA	Marwan Al-Sahafi (on loan from Al-Ittihad)
18	MF	BEL	Ryan Sanusi
22	MF	BEL	Oscar Vargas


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	FW	BEL	Antoine Colassin
26	DF	BEL	Derrick Tshimanga
27	FW	CIV	Charly Keita
28	DF	BDI	Marco Weymans
30	MF	NED	Dean Huiberts
32	MF	ENG	D'Margio Wright-Phillips
33	GK	BEL	Nick Shinton
42	DF	CUW	Ar'jany Martha
47	MF	BEL	Welat Cagro
51	DF	BEL	Keano De Stobbeleir
55	DF	FRA	Félix Nzouango
66	DF	GRE	Apostolos Konstantopoulos
71	GK	CRO	Davor Matijaš

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	BEL	Axl Van Himbeeck (at Helmond Sport until 30 June 2025)

Club staff

Position	Name
Chairman	Francis Vrancken
Owner	Abdullah bin Musaid bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud
Director	Frédéric Van Den Steen Walter Damen Luc Neefs Abdullah Alghamdi Saad Allazeez Lucas Houben Philippe Verellen
Manager	Dirk Kuyt
Assistant manager	Dirk Heesen Frank Magerman
First-team coach	Diego Poppe
Goalkeeping coach	Raymond Mulder
Video analyst	Patrice Pfeiffer
Head of performance	Gianni Chiffi
Doctor	Dr. Kris Peeters
Physiotherapist	Olivier Meul Linske Peeters Benny Begine
Managing Director	Gunther Dieltjens
Technical director	Sander Van Praet Jan Van Winckel

Managers

Season	Manager
2013–2014	Urbain Spaenhoven
2014–2015	Urbain Spaenhoven
2015–2016	Urbain Spaenhoven/ Dennis van Wijk
2016–2017	Marc Brys
2017–2018	Marc Brys
2018–2019	Stijn Vreven
2019–2021	Hernán Losada
2021	William Still
2021	Peter Maes
2021–2022	Javier Torrente
2022	Greg Vanderidt
2022–2023	Andreas Wieland
2023–present	Dirk Kuyt

Club captains

Season	Player
2013–2014	Davy De Smedt
2014–2015	Davy De Smedt
2015–2016	Davy De Smedt/Hannes Meeus
2016–2017	Jaric Schaessens
2018–2019	Tom Van Hyfte
2019–2021	Mike Vanhamel
2022–present	Ryan Sanusi

Top scorers

Season	Player	Goals
2013–2014	Peter Nijs	28
2014–2015	Dyron Daal	18
2015–2016	Hernán Losada	10
2016–2017	Hernán Losada	15
2017–2018	Hernán Losada	10
2018–2019	Dante Vanzeir	16
2019–2020	Raphael Holzhauser	8
2020–2021	Raphael Holzhauser	16
2021–2022	Joren Dom	5
2022–2023	Thibo Baeten	13
2023–2024	Tom Reyners	10
2024–2025